Nina POV
"Drink the tea before it gets cold, Nina."
Novalee sets the porcelain cup on the bedside table. The ceramic clicks against the wood.
"I am drinking it," I say.
My fingers sink into the thick, dark fur of the kitten in my lap. Yuki. It is a Japanese name. Jethro must have figured out my taste by now. I stroke the small ridge of the kitten's spine, my hand steady, even if the rest of my skin feels raw.
Outside the bedroom window, the heavy sound of boots scrapes against the stone courtyard. The pack guards are clearing the debris from the castle grounds. The iron scent of dried blood drifts up from the back garden, sharp and metallic. I do not look out the window. I keep my eyes fixed on the kitten.
I have spent twenty years in this Lycan kingdom. Twenty years of breathing the
